A Sunday Sojourn in Riverside

Have a Monday off? Love the Mission Inn? You're in luck.

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WEEKEND GOODBYE: Study after hospitality study says that the bulk of travelers, at least nowadays, goes for the short-spurt getaway. The reasons are numerous -- maybe budget, maybe the fact that we're all pretty tied to our cubicles -- but we lean toward a one-night or two-night vacation whenever we can grab the time. Those one-nighters fall more often than not on a Friday or Saturday, which is one reason why you see those must-book-two-nights asterisks cluster around weekends. (Sorry, Tuesdays and Wednesdays; we know you feel left out here.) The upshot of all of this is that one tends to see a lot of relaxed but long-faced people checking out of various hotels on Sunday mornings. They feel good, but the five-day-work-week awaits. If only Sunday night was something special, in terms of sleeping-away-from-home. We think it should be, and so we always gladly pause to applaud those properties that stir a little excitement around the final night of the weekend (and, by happenstance, Monday morning). The Mission Inn in Riverside is doing just that via a package that's on now through the end of March, 2013.

OH! WHAT A SUNDAY: The package is this: overnight deluxe accomos, $50 resort credit (yep, we're thinking dinner in one of the resort eateries), cupcake turndown (yep, we're thinking dessert in bed), and breakfast in the Mission Inn Restaurant or your room (that's a full, not a continental, note). Your part? Pay the all-inclusive price of $239 and stay on a Sunday night. Done.

VALENTINE'S DAY: Feb. 14 does not fall on a Sunday this year, but we would blush if we were to scamper away without mentioning the landmark hotel's romance packages. They're not related to the Sunday stay-over deal, and there are more roses involved, please note. Have a looksie.